Pundooah, the name normally refers to the twin city of Gour,
now in Malda, which was once the capital of Bengal. Much
closer to Calcutta, in the district of Hooghly lie another
Pundooah. Both these places contain interesting historical
relics.

The smaller version, at Hooghly, contains a five-storied
minar (tower) and the ruins of an ancient mosque. It is
just 61 km from Howrah and can be reached by the Burdwan
Local via main line in one and half hour.

It is best to take the morning train. Even before entering
the Pundooah station the minar can be spotted on the right
hand side. It towers above the trees and buildings, its
unique shape and style distinguishing it from the numerous
chimneys of the brick-kiln that dot the region.

Rickshaws are available from station to the minar. The
roads of Pundooah are congested and are supplemented
with chaotic traffic, but the bumpy rickshaw ride is
short.

The complex houses the 40 meter tower, built in 1340
(reduced to 38 meter by the earthquake of 1886) and
the ruins of the Bais Darwaza Masjid, built in 1300
(twenty-two doors Mosque). Both these are maintained
by the Archeological Survey Of India (ASI) and are
declared monument of National Importance. The area
surrounding the structure is cordoned off and no
construction is allowed inside the enclosure.

In 1340 the king of Pundooah, Panduraja was defeated by
Shah Suffi nephew of Feroze Shah, the Muslim ruler of
Delhi. Shah Suffi went on to construct a tower as a
symbol of triumph over his Hindu counterpart, which
later on served as the Ajan Minar for the Bais Darwaza
Masjid also called the Bari Masjid (Big Mosque). But a
handful of historian differ over this issue and they
believe that the minar was actually the highest part
of the Bishnu Mandir of Panduraja, which was demolished
by the Muslim invaders leaving only the tower as a symbol
of triumph.

Legend says that Panduraja, considered as a direct
descendent of Goutam Buddha, was a powerful ruler in a
Hindu dominated kingdom, which housed only five Muslim
families. One of these Muslims sacrificed a cow on the
occasion of his son’s birthday. Panduraja and his Hindu
subjects were furious and they in return killed the boy.
The Muslim father was left with no option but to carry
his son’s body to the court of Feroze Shah in Delhi.

Feroze Shah in order to crush Panduraja, sent a huge
army, led by his nephew Shah Suffi towards Bengal.
Although Panduraja was a ruler of a small province and
maintained a small army he was able to defend the huge
army from Delhi at least for the initial stages.

Soon a rumour spread in the Delhi camp that the palace
of Panduraja contained a mysterious pond, which water
had a strange power of bringing dead men back to life.
Strategies were chalked at the Delhi army camp and they
bribed a man of Panduraja’s army to contaminate the
water of the pond by throwing a piece of beef into it.
The plan was tactfully carried out and the water lost
its magical power and it was only a matter of time
that Panduraja was crushed. Left with no option
Panduraja and his family committed suicide by drowning
in the Ganges at Tribeni.

While the historians debate over finer issue you can
well explore the two unique pieces of Bengal
architecture. The five-storied minar, comes in
with a 161 step spiral staircase leading to the
top. Although the staircase are intact to this day
but entry is an absolutely prohibited. The towers
narrows as it goes higher and is crowned with a small
dome at the top. The upper part brought down by the
earthquake has been renovated but it neither
resembles the grace and the beauty of the original
tower. Two engraved stone pillars, removed from
Hindu Temple, flank the entry of the minar.

Get the keys from the caretaker to enter the Bais
Darwaza Masjid complex. Contrary to the name the
mosque contains 24 doors (21 in front and 3 on the side)
the roof once contained 63 small domes but the entire
roof along with the dome have long collapsed. All the
remains of this magnificent brick building are its
thick sidewalls and the few arches standing on columns
removed from Hindu temples.

The entire place is hardly visited by tourist and can
be an ideal picnic spot on a spring Sunday. But during the
Bengali month of Magh, the Magh Mela turns the quiet
little complex into a buzzing fair ground. For centuries
Pandooah has been a seat of communal violence but this
100 years (started in 1904) old fair is a classic example
of communal harmony where people of all religion, cast
and creed participate in the true spirit of “unity
among diversity.”